So as the winter month's wind down and spring starts to break in, you start to think, what to do with all these fish in the freezer? While personally I wasn't exactly running out of freezer space just yet I do know a few people who were.

This weekend we drove up to Michigan's smallest city, Omer! The Ott family up there puts on one heck of a fish fry. We fad perch, walleye, pike, bluegill and lake trout. Along with that french fries, dinner rolls, salad and desert.

It was my son's 10th birthday and my Dad's 69th birthday so we even had cake!

What a difference a week can make, single digit temps last weekend and highs in the 50's this weekend. Like they say, if you don't like the weather in Michigan just wait five minutes. Ice conditions can deteriorate quickly with a little warm weather and wind. The ice can litterally leave a lake in a couple of days.

With that being said we opted to stay off the ice this weekend but that doesn't mean there aren't things to do outdoors to enjoy this beautiful weather. With the warming temps during the day and colder, freezing, temps at night, the sap in sugar maples starts running.

Saturday we went to Steere's Sugarbush in Crystal Michigan. The Steere family has been gathering and boiling sap to make pure maple syrup for years. It takes approximately 40-50 gallons of sap to boil down to one gallon of syrup. The family runs the operation from mid February through mid March depending on the weather and they produce 80-120 gallons of syrup each season.

Saturday was a perfect day for it. The buckets were full and we hauled over 1,000 gallons of sap out of the woods and up to the sap shack for boiling.

Well the bitter cold temps this past weekend combined with the wind kept us off the ice but did not keep us indoors. The 7th Annual Crystal Lake Winter-fest in Crystal Michigan was going on and is always a good time. The festival happens each winter during the Michigan DNR free fishing weekend. Activities include a fishing derby, vintage snowmobile show, chili cook off, polar bear plunge, and several other family friendly events. Its a great way to get out of the house and celebrate Central Michigan's Out of Doors.

What a great weekend in Central Michigan's Out of Doors. While warmer than average temps have moved in there is still plenty of good ice to be out on. We started the weekend a little early on Friday by heading way north and west to the famous Lake Gogebic in Ontonagon county. The ice conditions were pretty good other than areas that held heavy snow and slush. We were walking which made travel difficult but since this lake is long and narrow with plenty of access sites we never had to walk more than a half mile out. The bite was still a little on the slow side but we did manage to put a few walleye and perch on the ice. We stayed at Bear's Nine Pines Resort on the south west side of the lake which was an ideal place for people looking to fish. They not only set us up on local fishing spots but they also offer a self serve bait shop and fish cleaning station. The cabins were warm and cozy and offered a great place to warm up, dry our clothes and cook a good hot meal.

 We also received a good fishing report from Higgins Lake where ice conditions are not good and caution should be used but nice limits of lake trout, perch and pike are being reported.

This next weekend we will be headed south to the Crystal Lake winterfest for the fishing derby, and lots of other outdoor festivities!